Marius and Company
by OceanHeart23
Summary: If instead of Marius meeting Courfeyrac first, they ultimately are the last to meet.


**A/N**: This is my first Les Miserables story set in a modern AU that focus's on Marius's introduction to everyone. It's also primarily gen and friendship.  
**Warnings**: There is the occasional swear word. Also this story is unbeta'd so future apologies for any grammatical mistakes.  
**Disclaimer:** I do not own Les Miserables and make no money from writing this  
If instead of Marius meeting Courfeyrac first, they ultimately are the last to meet.

* * *

Marius was currently living out of his car having been kicked out of his grandfather's house. Thankfully his tuition had already been paid for the rest of the year, and his grandfather was unable to pull the funding back. However his grandfather hadn't paid for room and board. Currently Marius couldn't afford to hence the current car situation. He was also living off of peanut butter sandwiches and water, which admittedly he was getting a little sick of.

It was unfortunate that he didn't know a single person on campus, and the thought greatly made him miss his girlfriend Cosette and best friend Eponine. They had both been accepted to a notably good school with a strong nursing program which were both their fields. Cosette was confident they could make the long distance work, and both promised to visit when they got a chance and try to write him letters. He kept a photo of the three of him on his dashboard but then had to tuck it in his glove-box getting too homesick, if he looked at it for too long. It was hard not having any other friends at the moment.

With time Marius was learning little tricks to get by like using the library first thing in the morning and evening to brush his teeth, which is where he first Combeferre. Marius had just finished rinsing when the door opened. He was surprised as usually no one was there at 7 in the morning, as that was when the library opened. The bespectacled man looked equally surprised to see him there.

"Oh hello there, good morning." He said politely pulling up his sleeves which showcased his tattoos before proceeding to wash his hands.

"Morning," Marius muttered quickly drying his toothbrush and stuffing it in his pocket eager to get out of there.

The man raised an eyebrow at the action but said nothing further.

Marius gave a weak smile. "I um take dental hygiene very seriously and just had breakfast here." That was a lie there was no breakfast.

"Right...well I hope it was delicious." The man spoke with a pleasant enough smile but questioning eyes.

'I wish it would have been.`` Breakfast was a thing of the past. He definitely couldn't afford it now. "Thank you have a good night." Marius said as he walked off. He caught the man's amused answer before going out of earshot.

"I suspect I will need to make it through the day first but same to you."

The biggest hurdle was purchasing most of his books which were unbelievably expensive. In what later became known as the dumpster diving incident. A man by the name of Bahorel was apparently in most of the classes Marius was in going for the same field. One day he was so fed up with his classes and major in general, that he proceeded to later chuck them angrily into a dumpster ranting about the stupidity of law books and classes.

He was about to set the dumpster on fire before Marius sprinted onto the scene and leaped inside with a loud cry of "NOO!" to stop the public burning. Marius was fully prepared to argue his case to save the books and offer to do something, so he could purchase them. However Bahorel was laughing too hard and said he could have them, if they meant that much to him. Apparently his friend recorded the whole thing, and they said that was payment enough. Marius in midst the feelings of embarrassment took the win.

Marius also came to realize there were pros and cons to having so few clothes. On the one hand it made choosing what to wear and washing them fairly easy. On the other he had very few dress shirts okay one dress shirt, it took pretty low priority when packing up to leave.

The shirt he owned was a nice dark blue one, which he needed for interviews provided he ever got one and super nice occasions. One day he wore it as the rest of his clothes were dirty and regrettably tore it on a nail sticking out of the wall. Stealing a needle and thread from one of the backstage theater rooms, Marius walked to one of the outdoor empty courtyard tables and took a seat. He'd never sewn anything before, but it couldn't be that hard right? Just insert the needle through and weave back and forth a few times.

No sooner than he had just got halfway through, Marius heard a cheerful Hi! Just before someone took a seat next to him. It was a guy with a long braid, flower crown, silver and gold glitter sweater, and tie dye pants.

"My name's Jean but I prefer Jehan. I had to come up to you, because it's so wonderful to see someone take up the craft of sewing! Honestly these days it almost seems to be a lost art form." He then took a look at Marius' horrible patch work so far, and his face fell. The man then adopted a tentative smile. "Um new to the craft I take it?"

Marius let out a rather doleful sigh. "It can't be saved can it?"

"Oh no! It's not hopeless. Granted for this big of a tear it's probably best to use a machine plus usually it's better to find a similar thread color. This bright orange is pretty detracting and draws the eye right to the tear. Not to mention you want to keep the stitches neater and closer together. But it's all apart of the learning process! I love teaching beginners. I was pretty involved in my home economics club back in high school."

Seeing Marius still staring rather forlornly at the dress shirt. Jehan spoke up again. "I could try to mend it for you, if you'd like. Just give me your phone number, and we can text a time to meet up."

Unable to help it Marius's eyes lit up in surprise. "You can? That would be great thank you thank you!"

Jehan laughed with good humor. "It's no trouble at all. Any excuse to engage in my third favorite hobby is always a joy."

"There's just one thing."

"What's that?"

"I don't have a phone."

"Oh," Jehan replied looking puzzled. "Well why don't we agree to meet exactly right back in this spot a week from now. Will that work?"

"Yes that works thanks again Jehan." Marius said as he realized he needed to leave for his next class lest he be late.

"No problem hun, but I'd like to get your name for next time."

"Oh! I'm sorry I'm Marius." Holding out his hand for Jehan to shake which he did with a grin.

"Nice to meet you."

"Same sorry have to go see you next week!" Realizing he should probably offer to compensate he asked. "Um how much would I owe you?" Maybe Jehan would accept and like a peanut butter sandwich too.

But Jehan was already shaking his head and waving him off. "Consider it a gift from a new friend. Now go on." With shooing motions and a laugh. "Wouldn't want you to be late now."

A few days he stumbled across a man sitting with his back to the side of the brick staircase drinking from a beer bottle with a few other surrounding ones. He was also violently sketching something. Marius hesitantly approached worried this person might be too drunk to make it home. If so he would be a horrible person to just leave him there. The man looked up at him squinting in the streetlight.

"Um excuse me are you alright? Do you need some help?"

The man grinned at him attempting to stand up then falling down laughing. "A little more tipsy then I thought with mostly frozen legs, but I'm good. I won't say no to some help to the Rec building."

Marius came closer to offer his hand as a means up almost staggering but letting out a small yelp, as the man leaned a little more weight on him than he was expecting.

"So what is the name of my walking crutch?"

"Oh I'm Marius. I'm kinda surprised you're so coherent. I usually get drunk after one beer."

The man clearly fought snickering. "Oh Marius my good man we need to work up your tolerance! I have a feeling you'd be an adorable drunk."

Letting out a nervous laugh Marius responded. "I wouldn't know it doesn't happen very often."

"Hmm so where do you live Marius? You a commuter or dorm/apartment child."

Marius cursed his inability to lie well on the spot. Before he could decide which one would sound the most believable they heard a shout off in the distance.

"Grantaire!"

A man came stomping over in a red and black jacket and golden curls much like his girlfriends. He felt more than heard Grantaire's laugh.

"Dost my ears deceive me with the sounds of Apollo's melodious voice."

The blonde ignored that and grabbed him from Marius easing his burden. "I'll take him home. He'll just send me annoying texts otherwise. Appreciate your help citizen."

Marius blinked in confusion before responding. "Oh um no problem Apollo."

This set Grantaire off in hysterical laughter, while the man merely huffed irritatedly before stating. "It's Enjolras actually please don't call me that."

"Oh sorry about that nice meeting you both. I guess I'll head out." Before proceeding to do just that Grantaire's voice rang out.

"Marius! Next time we meet drinks will be on me!"

Then their voices got quieter. "It was like meeting a rare mythical creature who gets drunk off one beer. I swear if we introduce him to Courf. He'll be adopted in less than 10 s flat."

"Probably and just focus on walking you talking distillery."

"That is offensive and accurate. Fuck I'm hungry."

"I'm sure Joly and Bossuet will no doubt feed you. I will not."

"So cruel hmm I could really go for another beer."

"No and don't think I've forgotten about those bottles you've left that I'll need to go back to collect. I'm doing you a favor not reporting that."

"Bless you dear Apollo."

In the middle of his third week Marius had a few more things figured out. However, not one of which was how not to get lost. He ended up daily asking multiple people for directions. One of which was the man with the glasses he met in the library, who he came to learn was Combeferre. Another was a man named Bossuet who their first meeting included mutually tripping into each other and nearly both falling down the staircase.

The lady at the laundromat took pity on him and allowed him to wash and dry his clothes for free provided he works at least five to ten hours a week for her. Showers were solved through using the men's locker room.

Scouring the different boards around campus for jobs, Marius picked up a couple of tutoring jobs. It was a shame he missed applying for a cafeteria position, because he'd heard they got to take extra food home with them. However that was probably for the best, as he had no fridge to store anything in.

The scarce food he had managed to get combined with the amount he was trying to take on was beginning to take its toll. He passed out one day for a few minutes and woke up to someone named Joly frantically asking him a million questions and trying to give him orange juice and oreos.

Marius spent so much time at the library in a very secluded corner, where the librarian Feuilly had to wake him up a couple of times each time looking more and more worried.

Finally he thought he managed a stroke of luck, when he discovered a website offering money in exchange for some nearby human drug testing programs. Marius printed off the information that he needed and began making his way to the exit of course not looking where he was going. Colliding hard with someone he felt himself fall backwards to the ground while whoever he had ran into merely stumbled.

"Oh Marius I'm so sorry are you okay?" It was Combeferre again. He held out his hand for Marius to take, which he did after a few seconds.

"It's okay my fault I wasn't paying attention." He noticed Enjolras was with him and had gathered up his papers...and was reading them with a frown on his face.

"Do you know how dangerous these types of trials can be? Not to mention this particular facility has been under heavy speculation for a while now that they operate uncertified and without proper licenses."

Marius snatched the papers out of his hands claiming defensively. "I don't believe that is any of your business." Crap he should have just said they weren't his, but again he could never lie well under pressure.

Enjolras's scowl deepened a few degrees. "Ignoring the odd fatalities in the last decade that came as a result of being involved with that place. There are still serious potential side effects to consider. Not to mention the moral elements it calls into question. Getting involved is extremely dangerous and stupidly reckless."

'I don't have a choice.`` Marius wanted to say. This was his best chance for some solid income soon. What he said however was. "Thank you for the advice, but I'll be fine. Plus I haven't signed anything. It can't hurt to see what they have to say. Sorry you'll need to please excuse me."

Enjolras opened his mouth no doubt to continue further arguing his point before Combeferre put a hand over his mouth. "Of course Marius just please ...exercise caution before committing to anything there. We'll see you later."

"See ya," He whispered before walking off not sure if he heard Combeferre whispering "We need to do something soon." or if he imagined it.

It was finally the end of the fourth week nearly a month since his car had become his new home, and Marius wanted to cry. He didn't want to participate in the human drug trials, but what choice did he have. It wasn't like he wanted to get involved with trying to sell drugs or prostitution. But he'd had nearly 60 peanut butter sandwiches in the last month, had to resort to duct taping his shoes to keep them together, and had to write most of his class notes in a large pink unicorn notebook he found discarded at the park. Marius got a lot of strange looks for that one.

Currently sitting on his car Marius worked on the last of his jello contemplating his life decisions, until he heard someone angrily shout. "YOU!" Off about 30 ft away but rapidly approaching was a short man with dark curly hair much like Grantaire, but instead of splattered paint art clothes this guy was fairly nicely dressed with a pineapple bow tie.

Marius felt alarmed and instinctively tried to scoot back further up his car. He also searched his brain trying to think if he ticked this guy off but drew a giant blank never having seen him before in his life. He couldn't even say anything, because the man was already speaking again. "I have been looking ALL OVER for you! The guy my friends keep mentioning and running into, but no when I try to find you you're nowhere to be found."

Marius blinked rapidly at the confusing chatter. "I'm sorry um what?"

The man shot him a sunny smile no longer angry. "I'm looking for a roommate and have been told you would be perfect. Not to worry I have an excellent sales pitch for this. I'm moderately neat, to my knowledge don't have any weird habits, rent's super cheap, the fridge is always stocked and there's a karaoke machine! Also I think we have the potential for a great and epic friendship."

"But uh...I don't know you?" He could have kicked himself for self sabotaging his chance to leave his car.

The man waved him off like it was a trivial concern. "We can easily fix that, but no this is where our story begins. Plus my fortune cookies never lie." He said as he pulled out a slip of paper that he read from. "You will meet someone of great worth today who will affect your destiny. Also your lucky numbers are 7, 13, 21, and 28. I got seven phone numbers today, Enjolras and Grantaire likely argued 13 times today, I'm sure Jehan probably read 21 poems, and today's the 28th! See it's fate! Anyways my name is Courfeyrac what's yours?"

"Marius hello Courfeyrac." holding out his hand as was his custom.

Courfeyrac grinned extending his as well for a hand shake. "See I like you and can already tell we're going to get along just fine. Now are you good to move in today? Because Sailor's pizza has a deal going on right now, and I think that would be a great settling in meal. Or we could get Chinese etc, whatever you want I'm not picky."

The idea of ordering pizza or any take out after not having it for so long caused his mouth to salivate and stomach to almost growl despite the jello he just ate.

"Courfeyrac...why are you doing this? You have to know by now I wouldn't be able to pay rent at least for awhile."

Courfeyrac's smile didn't dim in the slightest, but his eyes did soften. "Sometimes it's just a matter of being in a position to do the right thing. You need a place to stay, and I could do with the company. Besides my parents are paying for it so I don't really worry about rent either."

At the possibility and reality of finally having a chance to stay somewhere nice that wasn't his car, Marius broke down and cried..loudly.

"Oh dear...Marius I'm sorry. Did I upset you? Would you like a hug or to tell me what I've done wrong?"

Marius laughed through his tears. "Nothing I just can't believe this is real, and a hug would be nice." He hadn't had one in a very long time, and relished the feeling a security flowing around him.

When Courfeyrac eventually pulled back, he looked a touch concerned. "Are you okay now?"

Marius sniffled rubbing his eyes. "If you're serious, I think I will be."

"Of course I'm serious. I've only made this offer to a grand total of one people including yourself. I've been waiting for a sign to come to me and after hearing about the dumpster diving incident. I knew it was meant to be you."

Flushing slightly at the reminder of that memory Marius looked at the remains of his jello then down further to his shoes which Courfeyrac caught sight of looking sympathetic. "Oh you poor thing. Do you have anything going on for the rest of the day?"

Having to think for a second Marius responded. "I have two hours before I have a meeting to help tutor someone in French, then I have an evening class at 8. But other than that I don't have anything else scheduled."

"Well then we will need to get you some proper things. Your shoes are just making me sad. We'll get some basics now and get the rest later." With a prompt from Courfeyrac Marius hopped off his car with a shy smile and let Courfeyrac tug him away with an arm around his shoulders chattering all the while.

"We should also have a movie night this weekend. Ooh! I know the perfect one. We should watch Oliver and Company. If you haven't seen it, then I mourn your childhood. But it's so fitting because this ginger kitten Oliver (That's you) gets brought into this cool group of dogs by this smooth as fuck dog Dodger (That's me) and becomes one of the gang. Tell me Marius have you heard anything regarding the group Les Amis de ABC's?..."

And so began the start of the friendships that continued and lasted for the rest of Marius' life. They were definitely a lifeline, when he needed it most, and he wouldn't trade that or them for anything.


End file.
